Tesco's same-day online delivery service to be extended across UK

Digital reporter

Tesco is extending its same-day online grocery delivery service across the UK as it looks to better compete with rivals.

Tesco is extending its same-day online grocery delivery service across the UK as it looks to better compete with rivals.

The supermarket giant said on Monday that the service, currently only available in London and the South East, will now be rolled out across the country, covering "over 99% of UK households".

Tesco claimed that this gave it the "biggest reach of any retailer in the UK, stretching from the Shetland Islands in Scotland to Cornwall in south-west England".

Customers can order by 1pm to have their shopping delivered from 7pm onwards and receive an unlimited number of items, with the new service priced between £3 and £8.

Tesco has also recently extended its same-day click and collect service to 300 UK locations and just last month launched Tesco Now, a one-hour delivery service for customers in central London.

Adrian Letts, managing director of Tesco Online, said: "Customers tell us they like getting their shopping delivered quickly and conveniently, and with our same-day delivery service they can now order by lunch to get their shopping delivered for their evening meal.

"We've seen the service grow in popularity since we launched it in London and the South East so we're really excited to be rolling it out to customers nationwide."

The move comes following the launch of AmazonFresh, which entered the UK market last year, raising fears that the dominance of the so called Big Four - Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Asda - could be further eroded.

The internet giant, which has also teamed up with Morrisons in the UK, operates its service across London, Surrey and parts of Hampshire.

To compound matters, Amazon is to acquire supermarket chain Whole Foods in a 13.7 billion US dollar (£10.7 billion) deal, in the US firm's biggest foray into the grocery sector to date.

Tesco, along with the other established players, has also been hammered by the emergence of Aldi and Lidl, whose entrance onto the grocery scene has sparked a bitter price war that has eroded profit margins.